Technological inertia is the propensity of incumbent firms with historical expertise in one generation of technology to continue development of that generation and not effectively develop and commercialize products based on a new generation of technology.
Technological inertia is the propensity of incumbent firms with expertise in one generation of technology to continue development of that generation and not effectively develop and commercialize products based on a new generation of technology. The phenomenon has been well documented empirically in a range of industries, including the movement from X-ray to CT scanners, electromechanical to electronic calculators, and mechanical to electronic watches among others (Cooper and Smith 1992).
Research on the underlying drivers of technological inertia has been at two levels of analysis. First are longitudinal industry studies focused on developing typologies of technological changethat help explain the conditions...
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Tripsas, M. (2018). Technological Inertia. In: Augier, M., Teece, D.J. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_378
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_378
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